[HiFiAudio]

  PM-1 is not available in the site!

Contact that dealer and find out.  Usually where the BDP-105D is sold, one would expect the PM-1/HA-1 to be available also.   

 

[mlxx]

  I presume that the AUS$1,699 is from Oppo Digital Australia Pty. Ltd.?  Oppo Digital, Inc., set the United States retail price ($1099.00 as of May 2014) right at the top of the $1000 ballpark I forecast while the PM-1 was in preproduction tuning, given the materials used; Australia is closer to the production plant than the United States, but duties might have a more adverse effect on Aussie, compared to American, imports from the China area.

 
They don't.. the >35% figure is after I have accounted for the 10% goods and services tax (GST) we have here and the difference in the Dollar (0.94 USD currently) plus shipping. If you ring up the distributor here about the pricing they say its due to the prices they get from OPPO in the US and there is nothing they can do about it. It would seem that every other place in the world has been hit by these unfair prices, except for the US, places like the UK even more so.
 
It's one of the usual excuses we get down here to justify the higher prices like when IKEA said it was due to shipping, except their plant was in Malaysia so they must have been coming here via the North Pole.

 

[jkstraw79]

Why buy the PM1 at that price when the PM2 is coming out in June with a price tag around $700? What am I missing?

 

[jkstraw79]

Per the Oppo Site:
 
Expected Availability: June 2014

Expected Price: $699

The OPPO PM-2 Planar Magnetic headphone offers a different way of thinking about planar magnetic technology. The PM-2 is characterized by its natural, dynamic, and engaging sound quality with an emphasis on comfort and reduced weight. It is the result of many years of research led by a team comprised of passionate audio and acoustics engineers, chemical and materials scientists, and audiophiles. A number of technological breakthroughs have made their way into the PM-2, including the use of a unique 7-layer diaphragm, double-sided spiraling coils, and an FEM-optimized magnet system.

The advantages of planar magnetic technology are based on the fact that in a planar driver, sound is generated by a very thin and light diaphragm that is driven evenly over the entire radiating area. Sound, entering our ear, has a planar wave front at the so called ear reference point (ERP), with all spectrum components in phase. A typical dynamic headphone driver, due to its phase irregularity, disrupts that coherence, resulting in less than perfect signal peak reconstruction, especially of very short impulses. A planar magnetic driver has another advantage that relates to its purely resistive impedance. It has a flat conductor pattern that does not have any inductive component, which eliminates inductance related IM distortion, common in dynamic headphones. A resistive load also ensures that any amplifier will drive the headphones without any changes in spectral balance.

OPPO uniquely integrates many innovations and proprietary methods developed over the years with the latest breakthroughs in materials and manufacturing techniques. Results of this research, focused on eliminating issues affecting many planar magnetic headphones, such as low sensitivity, weight, insufficient diaphragm stability, consistency and reliability, have been implemented in this new technology. The OPPO planar magnetic headphone uses an FEM optimized magnet system with very high energy Neodymium magnets. A large oval planar diaphragm is positioned in an evenly distributed symmetric magnetic field. The diaphragm has a spiraling pattern of flat conductors etched on both sides of a very thin polymer film. The magnetic system and conductor patterns are optimized for maximum driving force (sensitivity) and consistency of the applied force over the radiating area. The double-sided diaphragm has 7 layers of extremely thin materials, each doing a specific job for best performance, reliability and longevity.

These advantages of OPPO’s high resolution planar magnetic technology and advanced headphone design provide for a very open, transparent, and highly dynamic sound that exhibits well-balanced tonal qualities with vanishingly low distortion, resulting in a headphone that communicates every nuance of your favorite music and ensures a high level of emotional engagement. With its industrial fit and finish, the PM-2 is equally at home in an audiophile hi-fi system or on the go with a high resolution portable device.

 

Note: Product features and availability subject to change as this product is currently still in development.

 

 

[mlxx]

  Why buy the PM1 at that price when the PM2 is coming out in June with a price tag around $700? What am I missing?

 
The PM-2 will be $1,099 or $1,199 here.. would you buy it then?

 

[HiFiAudio]

  Why buy the PM1 at that price when the PM2 is coming out in June with a price tag around $700? What am I missing?

Per Oppo:

"The PM-2 is basically a more affordable version of the PM-1. With so much effort putting into the development of the PM-1's planar magnetic driver, we want to make the technology available at a lower price point so more people can try it. The PM-2 and PM-1 are more similar rather than different. The PM-2 will use the same drivers, industrial design and mechanical design of the PM-1. The two will share many parts. It is our goal to make the PM-2 sound the same as (or as close as possible to) the PM-1. There will be some material differences: the PM-2 will use synthetic leather instead of lambskin, and a few metal parts will be replaced with plastic parts. The cost reduction for the PM-2 will mainly come from better yield when we make the parts.  The raw materials have a cost difference (lambskin leather vs synthetic leather, aluminum vs plastic etc.), but the cost difference from the yield has more impact. For example, some of the machined aluminum parts require significant machine shop hours to make, and if there is a slight mistake in any of the steps, the part is wasted. On the other hand, pretty much every piece of plastic parts that comes off the injection mold can pass QC and be used in the PM-2 production. The same goes for selecting the good part of leather to sew into ear pads and head bands, and rejecting many of the finished leather ear pads and head bands due to imperfections in the leather or workmanship.

The packaging of the PM-2 will be simpler, and the standard cable will be made of OFC instead of OCC copper.

 
So if you want the simpler packaging and fewer metal parts, more plastic in the headphones then thats the difference.  The driver technology is the same.  There are beta testers that have said they have similar audio signatures.

 

[conquerator2]

They even said they sound the same

 

[ekrauss]

In response to this request and response and since it continues to be an issue for some, there were between 10 and 12 beta testers. Here is a very partial list based on the other thread:

aamefford

bigshot

HiFiGuy528

keanex

sachu

zilch0md

A beta tester witch hunt? Really mature, guys. Not sure if spite or jealousy is fueling this but it is badly reflective of Head-Fi.

For the record, I am a beta tester. I am also a member of the TiVo Advisors Panel, the Hulu Plus Insight Panel, I downloaded public beta's of Windows 7 and 8, I participated in the Public Beta of Mac OS X, and way back when I was a beta tester for America Online.

Let's now move on.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

A beta tester witch hunt? Really mature, guys. Not sure if spite or jealousy is fueling this but it is badly reflective of Head-Fi.
 

 
yes not some finest hour here, we should welcome beta testers and the work they do for consumers and compamies.

 

[ekrauss]

I received a request from a member to "edit" my post above re: the beta tester witch hunt. I decline to do so. I responded to that member thusly:

"The post is tame compared to a lot of stuff I've seen posted at Head-Fi. I'm not going to edit it. Complain to the mods and ask them to delete it if it rankles you so much. In the meantime, I'll return to my lurker status. Been lurking here for years, but only felt the need to comment when I saw this ridiculous witch hunt going on."

There you have it, folks. If you can't tolerate free speech, complain to the mods and have them remove it.

 

[ekrauss]

I have continued to participate via PM with the aforementioned Head-Fi'er. My impression is that he is a good guy, with his heart in the right place, but doesn't realize how bad an idea the beta tester witch hunt is. I told him I would cross-post my last message to him in the thread and then promptly return to my 4-year lurker status.

"I'm not calling you jealous and spiteful, I speculated whether the motivation underlying the witch hunt--something that quite a few head-fi'ers are a part of--is fueled by spite or jealousy.

Regardless of your motivations for posting the list of supposed beta testers, it LOOKS really bad. It looks petty, vengeful, spiteful, etc. In other words, it does not reflect well on Head-Fi.

A "lie" is a conscious falsehood, not speculation. Further, my comments weren't solely directed at you, but rather at the witch hunt that is going on.

Personally, if I reviewed a headphone after the NDA had been lifted, I would disclose that I was a beta tester for the product. If someone did not do so, they perhaps are being less than fully transparent but I don't see how forum rules or ethical rules for that matter were violated."

 

[Currawong]

I'm going to call a close on the discussion of it, but ekrauss you are more or less correct: Beta testers, if posting impressions and especially if posting a review, probably should mention that they beta-tested the headphones. It is where people are required to review a product publicly as part of a program that it becomes a serious requirement. Generally speaking though, if one gets a product other than by buying it normally one should mention that as appropriate.
 
Back to discussion of the headphones please...

 

[k3oxkjo]

I received a request from a member to "edit" my post above re: the beta tester witch hunt. I decline to do so. I responded to that member thusly:

"The post is tame compared to a lot of stuff I've seen posted at Head-Fi. I'm not going to edit it. Complain to the mods and ask them to delete it if it rankles you so much. In the meantime, I'll return to my lurker status. Been lurking here for years, but only felt the need to comment when I saw this ridiculous witch hunt going on."

There you have it, folks. If you can't tolerate free speech, complain to the mods and have them remove it.

 
Free speech which would include commenting on the beta testers.
 
Just sayin'...

 

[bigshot]

I believe Jude got a set. You can add him to the list.

 

[Frank I]

For those interested  http://thehighfidelityreport.com/oppo-pm-1-planar-technology-comes-of-age-2/